Tea Parties for Temperance!
Behind the Victorian movement to replace tippling alcohol with a very British ritual.
The Fight to Integrate Philadelphia’s Department Stores
Black women shopped at department store counters, but they weren't welcome to work where they spent their money.
The Long-Lost Ritual of Baby Books
Mothers used to documented their infant children's milestones—first steps, first smile—in specially made books. They're amazing historical documents.
Who Helped Japanese Americans after Internment?
Resettlement was difficult and traumatic, but the religious community worked to provide housing, food, and job opportunities.
The Anxious “China Hunters” of the Nineteenth Century
After the Civil War, some elite women became obsessed with collecting antique china, the better to connect themselves to illustrious histories.
The Midcentury Women Who Played With Dollhouses
How to sell white, middle-class women on suburban domesticity after World War II? Tantalize them with dollhouse-like models of new cabinets.
The Text That Stoked Modern Antisemitism
What's the history of the vicious The Protocols of the Elders of Zion?
How Influenza Devastated the Navajo Community in 1918
Like COVID-19, the 1918 influenza pandemic moved swiftly through the Navajo community, but firsthand accounts of the devastation are rare.
The Mormon Fans of Europe’s 1848 Revolutions
As the crowned heads of Europe shuddered at the unrest in the streets, members of the Latter-Day Saints movement cheered.
Do Series Books Turn Kids Off Adult-Approved Novels?
Goosebumps. The Baby-Sitters Club. Even Nancy Drew. In the 1990s, concerned educators wondered if series books were luring kids away from "literature."